Abstract

Porifera are a diverse animal phylum with species performing important ecological roles in aquatic ecosystems, and have become models for multicellularity and early-animal evolution. Demosponges are the largest class in sponges, but previous studies have relied on the only draft demosponge genome of Amphimedon queenslandica. Here we present the 125-megabase draft genome of the contractile laboratory demosponge Tethya wilhelma, sequenced to almost 150x coverage. We explore the genetic repertoire of transporters, receptors, and neurotransmitter metabolism across early-branching metazoans in the context of the evolution of these gene families. Presence of many genes is highly variable across animal groups, with many gene family expansions and losses. Three sponge classes show lineage-specific expansions of GABA-B receptors, far exceeding the gene number in vertebrates, while ctenophores appear to have secondarily lost most genes in the GABA pathway. Both GABA and glutamate receptors show lineage-specific domain rearrangements, making it difficult to trace the evolution of these gene families. Gene sets in the examined taxa suggest that nervous systems evolved independently at least twice and either changed function or were lost in sponges. Changes in gene content are consistent with the view that ctenophores and sponges are the earliest-branching metazoan lineages and provide additional support for the proposed ParaHoxozoa clade.